Awestruck
by nevillelongbotom
Summary: A simple game of strip poker going about as innocently as strip poker can.


James stared at the ceiling, tossing a quaffle into the air and catching it easily. Sirius grumbled about something under his breath, flopping lazily onto his back in his bed. Remus sat quietly in his bed, reading an unnecessarily long book. Peter was nowhere to be seen, probably in the kitchens getting food for himself. Sirius sighed again, kicking the hangings on his bed in frustration.

James glanced at him, didn't notice anything odd, and went back to tossing the quaffle. When he sighed again, Remus groaned and shut his book violently. "What do you want?"

Sirius sat up quickly, having obviously been waiting for someone to ask him that, "I wanna play strip poker."

James scoffed and sat up as well, putting the quaffle at the foot of his bed. "If you want to see me naked, you could just ask, Padfoot."

Sirius grabbed a shoe from the clutter near his bed and threw it at him, not gracing the comment with a response. He groaned as he laid back down, "It's the last day of term! What are we doing laying around like tossers when we could be causing mass mayhem?"

The door creaked open, and with a flourish of red curtains, James was leaning against one of his posts, attempting to look casually cool for the redhead that had just walked in. Lily rolled her eyes at James and walked over to Remus' bed. "Have you seen my copy of _The Healer's Helpmate_?" Remus thought for a moment, then shook his head. "If you see it, will you let me know?"

Before Remus could answer, James asked, "Why are you reading that?"

Lily turned to him, "Gee, Potter, maybe I want to be a Healer or something. Imagine that." James put his hands up defensively, retreating back to sit on his bed. Lily noticed Sirius splayed across his bed and raised an eyebrow. "Comfortable?"

Sirius reached down for something else to throw, but Lily started to leave. "Hey, wait!" Sirius sat up, a wicked grin on his face. She paused at the door. "Are you busy right now?" Lily looked confused but shook her head. "What about Mary and Marlene?" She shrugged. "Great. Wanna play poker?"

Lily tapped her chin teasingly, "Hm. Let me think." Sirius glared. She laughed softly, nodding, "Sure. I'll go get the girls." She closed the door softly behind her. Sirius jumped up from his bed and began rifling through his possessions in search of a deck of cards.

"Speaking of last day of term, don't you think you should pack?" Remus muttered. Sirius scoffed, standing up when he'd found the cards.

"Moony, I am a wizard." He pointed his wand at the floor, flicked his wrist, and all of his belongings flew neatly into his trunk. "Done." Remus rolled his eyes as he slid off his bed. He tugged one of the larger blankets from his bed and laid it in the middle of the room. He took his place on one of the corners, folding his legs neatly beneath him.

Heavy footsteps echoed up the dormitory staircase. Peter walked in, arms full of sweets and snacks. Sirius exclaimed happily, "Just in time, Wormtail!" He muttered a small "whuh" with his mouth full of cauldron cake. James and Remus sniggered softly, both covering it up by coughing loudly. Sirius rolled his eyes and motioned for him to put the snacks on the blanket.

James crawled over to the blanket, sprawling onto his stomach once in reach of the food. He dug around for a bit before deciding on a treacle tart and munching on that while they waited for the girls to return. Sirius sat as well, shuffling the cards and humming quietly under his breath.

Soon enough, they could hear giggling and quick footsteps nearing their dorm. James stuffed the remainder of his treat in his mouth quickly and ran his fingers haphazardly through his hair. Marlene was in the room first, still giggling. "Let's get this party started!" She sat next to Sirius, nearly dropping the bottle that was in her hand.

"Looks like you already have," Remus said, an eyebrow quirked. James snorted and propped himself up on his elbows.

Lily rolled her eyes and sat gracefully between Remus and Marlene, "Sorry about this one." Sirius laughed, making a grab for the bottle that Marlene now clutched to her chest.

"That's not gonna stop me," Sirius grinned as Marlene laughed and gave the bottle over. He took a long swig as Mary sat between James and Peter. He set the bottle in the center of the circle. "Shall we begin?"

Lily cocked her head to the side, "Where are the chips?" James glanced at Remus, who glanced at Sirius, who was smiling wickedly again.

"Didn't I mention? We're playing strip poker." Mary gasped, clapping her hands together excitedly.

Lily just sighed and shook her head, reaching for the bottle, "Not quite drunk enough for this yet." Peter and Mary laughed, taking turns with the bottle after her.

Sirius started dealing the cards, "Okay, rules. We're doing Texas Hold'em. Whoever wins the hand gets to claim a piece of clothing from whoever lost. Shirts, skirts, and pants are worth more than ties, jumpers, socks, and so on. Going all in includes skivvies. All clear?" There was a murmur of assent as he set down the cards. "All right, look at your cards. Place your bets."

Nine socks, four ties, 3 jumpers, 2 shirts, and a skirt later, James was winning.

Peter dealt this time. Everyone folded except for Sirius, James, and Lily. Lily watched the cards flip silently, but there was a glint in her eye. The community cards were a five of hearts, jack of spades, nine of clubs, six of spades, and jack of diamonds. James narrowed his eyes at her, trying to decipher her expression. Sirius lounged against a post of his bed, shirtless but with a tie still hanging from his neck. "A tie and three socks," he laid his bet in the center.

James thought for a moment, checking his cards again for precaution. "I raise you two shirts and a skirt."

Marlene had sobered up a bit, now sitting on her knees to keep herself somewhat more concealed. "This game is stupid." Remus, Peter, and Mary laughed, who each remained comfortably clothed. Lily called the bet, keeping silent.

Sirius sighed and set his cards down. "Fold. Not worth losing the pants." James glanced at Lily before raising the bet, adding the rest of his collection of socks, ties, and jumpers.

Lily sighed, contemplating her next move. She bit her lip. She glanced at James. Setting her cards face down, she said, "All in."

The circle stared at her in disbelief. Sirius sputtered incoherently. Marlene gaped, open-mouthed.

"Well?" She was looking at James. He glanced at the cards in his hand then at the ones of the floor. He took a deep breath.

"All in." The circle collectively went silent.

Lily cracked a smile, "Same time?" James nodded.

They both turned their cards over.

Jack of Hearts, Nine of Spades.

Nine of Diamonds, Nine of Hearts.

James and Lily looked at one another then the others for what to do. After taking the final swig from Marlene's firewhiskey, Sirius yelled, "Both strip!" They tossed their cards at him, getting up and running out of the room. Lily had a wide smile, and James was laughing. The door slammed. They looked at each other again. Footsteps came thundering towards the door.

"Come on!" Lily started running, down the stairs, through the common room, and out into the halls. James followed, giving Sirius a rude gesture as the portrait swung shut over the hole. The halls were silent. It must have been around 3 or 4 in the morning.

Lily grabbed the sleeve of his shirt as the portrait started to open again, running down a staircase without a care in the world of how loud she was. She let go to run faster, turning corners and down stairs at top speed. James caught up with her easily, passing her up and grabbing her wrist to duck into an open broom closet.

He slammed the door behind them, leaning back against it to catch his breath. Lily continued to chuckle through her heavy breathing. James grinned as well, tipping his head back. James seemed to be fully clothed still, save for his tie and shoes. Lily, however, was down to one sock, her skirt, and her shirt, which was untucked.

Lily calmed down soon and was just catching her breath when she heard something outside. She rushed to the door, pressing her ear to it to hear what was outside.

"Where'd they go?" Mary wheezed out. Lily covered her mouth to keep from giving away their hiding spot. Her other hand clasped James' in surprise. James turned his head to look at her. He didn't realize how close she was, shocked to see her face centimeters from his own.

Her eyes were closed in concentration, so she didn't notice him taking in the little details of her face. Her long eyelashes that cast a shadow across her cheek. The innumerable freckles that dances across her cheekbones and across her nose. The tiny scar just above her left eyebrow.

"This way," Remus led them around the corner. Lily didn't open her eyes until the echo of foot falls died away. When she finally did, James watched the shadows on her cheeks flutter. He didn't try to back away.

She blinked up at him and whispered, "Why are you staring at me?" He noticed a pink tint rise in her cheeks, making her freckles more noticeable.

He just smiled and shook his head, "No reason," he whispered back. He squeezed her hand lightly.

"Oh," she looked down, tugging her hand away quickly, "I didn't realize-" She cut herself off, brushing her hair behind her ear. James held back a laugh. The one time he wasn't even trying to impress her, she was blushing and stuttering over her words.

They looked at each other for a moment. "Hey, listen, Eva-"

"Shh!" She cut him off, putting a hand over his mouth and an ear to the door again.

"Those little sneaks! Where in Merlin's beard did they go?" Sirius cursed, leading the small crowd back through the corridors. James snickered into Lily's hand, watching her smile grow on her face.

She dropped her hand from his mouth, "Sorry." He chuckled, standing so he no longer rested against the door. It creaked softly from the change in weight. "Were you saying something?"

He thought about continuing what he was going to say but thought better of it. "Nah, nothing important." She nodded. She pressed her ear to the door again, checking for sounds.

"Wanna head back?" She peeked at him through her hair. He shrugged. "Race you?" She grinned.

He mirrored her expression, "You're on."

She threw the door open, smashing him behind it. He laughed, running to catch up with her, already halfway down the hall. She hopped on one foot, trying to pull her lone sock off for more traction. She had to lean against the wall to get it all the way off.

James skidded by in his socks, almost falling as he turned the corner past her. "I don't think so," she called. She balled the sock in her fist as she ran, trying to keep up with him. Up stairs, down hallways, Lily was starting to catch up. Her toe caught a crack in the floor, and she fell forward. She threw her arms up to catch her fall but couldn't stop the squeal that came as she hit the ground.

James turned to look as he made it to the door. He rushed back down to her when he saw her having trouble getting up. He offered a hand to her, "You okay?"

She nodded, taking his hand. As she pulled herself up, she pulled him down. "Sucker!" She giggled as she raced up the final stairs and gave the password.

"Cheater!" he grinned as he jogged up the steps. The portrait lady made some comment about "delinquents disrupting the castle", "middle of the night", and "sound asleep" as she swung open to admit them into the common room.

Lily corrected him, "No, no, no. That's called strategy." He shoved her arm, laughing. "And I would have won if I didn't have this stinking sock on!" She threw it at him.

He gave it a sniff, "Shit, you're right, Evans. Stinks." He grinned as she punched him in the arm. He laughed and tossed the sock back to her.

"All right, if you're done insulting me, I think I'll go to bed."

"Maybe think about a shower first."

"Oh, ha-ha. You're so funny." She rolled her eyes and started towards the girls' dormitories. He followed, leaning on the wall when they reached the stairs.

"This was fun. We should hide out in broom closets together more often."

Lily laughed, hitting his arm again, "Shut up."

"You know you want to."

"Oh, so much, James." He just grinned at her. She smiled back, folding her arms over her chest. "Well, um," she cleared her throat, "goodnight." She hesitated for a moment, then started up the stairs.

"Hey, Evans." She paused, looking over her shoulder. He paused to take a deep breath, "friends?"

Lily smiled, stepping back down to him. She pressed her lips to his cheek quickly. "Friends." He caught her eye for a moment before she turned.

Last chance.

He grabbed her arm, swinging her back around. He caught her waist in one arm and pulled her against him. Their lips crashed together messily. Lily teetered on the edge of the step, grabbing his arms for support.

She pulled back, almost falling over the other way when her ankle hit the step behind her. She steadied herself with the railing. Her hair fell in her face; she pushed it back with shaking hands. James breathed slowly, watching for a reaction. She finally looked up at him, shock and bewilderment written all over her face.

James started to apologize, but for the second time that night, she cut him off. She pressed her own lips to his this time, but it was calmer, more focused.

His hands fell to her hips; hers cupped his jaw. James mind was buzzing at a million miles a minute. Lily let her lips linger for a moment after she stopped molding against him. Her lips, her perfect lips, the lips James had been dreaming about since he was 13, brushed against his once more before pulling away completely.

She took a deep breath, brushing James' hair back with her fingers smoothly. She smiled and met his eyes again. He was unable to utter a single syllable. She blushed, "Let's keep that between us, yeah?"

James wasn't really listening; he agreed without a thought. She smiled, kissed him on the cheek again, and let go to run up the stairs. James watched her go, staring, awestruck.


End file.
